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"Nonsense," Ian exclaimed, almost laughing. "That is a woman's way with infants. Salisbury has other interests and other children." |
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"They are too young. Mark my words, he will return to the king, meaning to speak well of you and will rave of Geoffrey's perfectionshow strong in arms he has grown, how tall, as if you had pulled him up by the hair" |
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"If he does so, John will have both of us executed only to save himself from death by boredomand I will not blame him." |
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Although he was laughing, Ian was also thinking over past idle-hour conversations with Salisbury, which certainly did seem to center on Geoffrey. Of course, the topic was of absorbing interest to Ian also, and much of it was frankly practicalhow much Salisbury was willing to pay for clothing, arms, horses, and the like. Yet there, too, was a hint Alinor was right. Salisbury was willing to give far more than Geoffrey needed and far more than Ian thought it healthy for a boy to have. |
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Ofttimes extra gifts came from the fathera second, exquisite lute, even though Geoffrey had professed himself delighted with the one Alinor had given him on Twelfth Night, a fine horse, a purse of gold "to buy such little comforts as others might not think of." Ian had removed that from Geoffrey's hands and written Salisbury a sharp note of reprimand for sending gold to a boy just on the ripening side of manhood when he was on a battlefield where he could spend it on nothing but whoresand unclean ones at that. |
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Ian remembered begging Salisbury to be more reasonable and not destroy Geoffrey's sense of values, and he remembered the answer he had had. Geoffrey would not need to worry about such things. His grandfather's estates had already been secured to him through a special charter from the kingnot only the daughter's portion, but the wholeand much of Salisbury's own property, since Ela's enormous estates would be more |
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